About an hour after the last posting, we caught the SE trades, and it has been rock'n'roll ever since. Not at all what we expected open ocean trade wind sailing to be like. The swells are short period with confused wind waves, making for an exhausting ride as we reach across to Hiva Oa. Speed is not an issue - in the 24 hours up to midnight April 18 the GPS logged 184 miles, which at an average of 7.67, is actually the theoretical hull speed of Mulan. Eye balling the distance on Maxsea chart software, and it looks like 172 miles - still a huge single day for a reef in the main and 2 in the genoa. Winds have at times been 25 plus, so our overall average is starting to look respectable again, at 5.4 knots since leaving Nuevo Vallarta. We are doing so well, that at 200 miles from Atuona on Hiva Oa, we are already planning to sand-bag a bit in order to avoid a night-time arrival. Cheers, Team Mulan